Pop Rocks: 24 Is Back, Except Now It's 12

Some may say that Fox is hard up for new content and that rehashing an old series in a new format is like cutting the sleeves off of a T-shirt and calling it a tank top, or some may say, "What! They are bringing back24. That's awesome." Which group do you fall into?

Yes indeed, Jack Bauer and his espionage-wielding, time bomb ticking, assassination plot stopping, ass-kicking self will return to the small screen once more. Despite the rumors of a movie, Fox has decided to scrap that in favor of a short 12-episode season. This format, in general, is a new thing for Fox and one they are calling a "limited series," and 24 will not be the only such show to have this configuration ("limited series" Married With Children, anyone?).

How do you have a 24-hour time period in only 12 episodes? Fox admittedly stated that a lot of the side plot stuff in 24 was pointless, and by systematically cutting it out and focusing on the juicy substance, Bauer could technically have solved all of the world's problems in just 12 hours. Fair enough.

Of course Keifer Sutherland will return to the iconic role and by the way he is stoked! In addition to thanking the producers for giving him another chance he also stated that, "Make no mistake, my goal is to knock your socks off." Well of course Sutherland is thrilled to be back in the Bauer-saddle again, his last attempt at television was the Fox show Touch, which lasted all of two short seasons and had a horrible title.

Despite 24 being heralded as a masterpiece for television and often called "ground breaking," it also got a bit of flack. The show regularly portrayed Bauer using torture, and was criticized for showing Muslims in a negative light. Not that 2010, when the series concluded, was all that long ago, but I wonder if this behavior will fly now? I tend to think they will stay away from Muslim terrorists in this go round. The last season focused on the Russians, and we're none to pleased with that country right about now. But still, that's been done already.

What will Jack Bauer tackle next? The show has already focused on presidential assassination attempts, nuclear, biological and chemical threats, cyber attacks, as well as conspiracies which deal with government and corporate corruption. With the Boston bombing still being fresh in all of our minds just as this reboot of sorts is getting off the ground perhaps there will be a focus on terrorism on a smaller scale. If anyone can talk potential terrorists out of making the biggest mistakes of their lives, it's Jack Bauer. Or maybe the show will go bigger and Jack Bauer will have to stop an alien invasion, which is totally doable in 24 hours. Even more exciting would be if Jack Bauer has to stop Kanye West and Kim Karadshian from spawning the world's next dictator.